QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Flamarique, I. Articles by Hawryshyn, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Flamarique, I. Articles by Hawryshyn, C.

Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol 199, Issue 4 869-882, Copyright © 1996 by Company of Biologists

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Retinal development and visual sensitivity of young Pacific sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka)

I Flamarique and C Hawryshyn

The development of photoreceptor cell types and the visual sensitivity of young sockeye salmon were examined. In contrast to previous findings from rainbow trout, rod outer segments were observed in the embryo 1.5 weeks before hatching. At this stage, a full square mosaic with accessory corner cones was visible in the central retina. Post-hatching retinal development is similar to that of other fish species. During the first 11 months of development, the fibrous and interplexiform layers, the outer nuclear layer, the visual cell layer and the retinal pigment epithelium thicken. The ganglion cell layer and the inner nuclear layer regress. In addition, the mean diameter of the cones increases, with that of double cones increasing faster than that of either of the single cone types. As is the case for other salmonids, the density of accessory corner cones diminishes after smoltification (a developmental stage in salmonids). The retina of smolts exhibits a full square mosaic pattern in some peripheral areas and near the central embryonic fissure. However, unlike findings from rainbow trout, compound action potential recordings from the optic nerve of smolt sockeye reveal the presence of four cone mechanisms with sensitivity maxima at 380 (ultraviolet), 425 (short), 520 (middle) and 635 nm (long wavelength). There is also a rod mechanism with maximum sensitivity around 530 nm. Smolts also exhibit polarization sensitivity to 380 nm light under a white crepuscular background.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. L. Cheng and I. N. Flamarique Chromatic organization of cone photoreceptors in the retina of rainbow trout: single cones irreversibly switch from UV (SWS1) to blue (SWS2) light sensitive opsin during natural development J. Exp. Biol., December 1, 2007; 210(23): 4123 - 4135. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. L. Cheng, K. J. Gan, and I. N. Flamarique The Ultraviolet Opsin Is the First Opsin Expressed during Retinal Development of Salmonid Fishes Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., February 1, 2007; 48(2): 866 - 873. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. W. Hawryshyn, G. Martens, W. T. Allison, and B. R. Anholt Regeneration of ultraviolet-sensitive cones in the retinal cone mosaic of thyroxin-challenged post-juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) J. Exp. Biol., August 1, 2003; 206(15): 2665 - 2673. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. E. Deutschlander, D. K. Greaves, T. J. Haimberger, and C. W. Hawryshyn Functional mapping of ultraviolet photosensitivity during metamorphic transitions in a salmonid fish, Oncorhynchus mykiss J. Exp. Biol., March 9, 2002; 204(14): 2401 - 2413. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I Novales Flamarique The ontogeny of ultraviolet sensitivity, cone disappearance and regeneration in the sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka J. Exp. Biol., January 4, 2000; 203(7): 1161 - 1172. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. Parkyn and C. Hawryshyn Spectral and ultraviolet-polarisation sensitivity in juvenile salmonids: a comparative analysis using electrophysiology J. Exp. Biol., January 4, 2000; 203(7): 1173 - 1191. [Abstract] [PDF]